Description

This is an airy, exposed but totally safe journey up the impressive hanging arete on the far right side of the Ship's Prow (the north-facing side just above Chasm Lake). An awesome route in its own right, this is also a good Plan B tick if things are looking wet and/or ominous on the Diamond.

P1: (12a) Though the cracks on the sunny east side of the arete beckon, the first pitch actually climbs a thin, tips splitter around the right side of the arete, on the north-facing wall. Climb a 1.5" crack up to a roof. A bolt and a fixed stopper take you past a crux and into sustained 5.11 territory. Once the crack ends at a pegmatite blob, finger-tip traverse left past a fixed nut and a bolt (crux #2) to the arete, then climb easy ground to a double-bolt belay. If you're feeling heroic, drop a line in on Tommy Caldwell's Sarchasm (14a), the bolted line up the arete proper.

P2: (11+) This is a short but stout pitch that takes you out to a spectacular belay on the hanging arete. Climb easy corners (thin gear) up and right, then move left past three bolts on funky slopers to reach the belay.

P3: (12c) Possibly one of the best sport pitches around! Hats-off, kudos, and props to Pat and Jim for their multiple trips up to the Ship's Prow to hand-drill the 13 bolts on this pitch. This pitch is in your face right off the belay -- climb very overhanging rock on the undercut arete, pimping slopers, little crimps, and funky pinches. As the angle relents, so does the climbing. Tricky route-finding and devious cruxes on the upper arete and face will have you on your toes all the way to the double-bolt anchors at the top of the prow.

NOTE: This pitch is exactly 30 meters long -- you can get back to the belay with a 60-meter rope and your second can top-rope to clean the draws. Bring a 60 meter trail line and you can double-rope rappel straight to the ground from the belay at the base of this pitch. This is probably the easiest -- and safest -- way off the route. Rapping the route with a single line would involve lots of swinging around in space, kicking desperately at the wall to get back in to the lower set of anchors, and is *not* recommended.

Protection

This route mostly has bolts and fixed gear, but you'll need a light rack for the first and second pitches -- some stoppers, RP's, #0 and #00 TCUs, and doubles up through about 2 inches.